


State of Change

by spikewriter



Series: Rose Tyler, Defender of the Earth and Her Faithful Companion, the Doctor (Oi!) [3]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-07
Updated: 2014-12-07
Packaged: 2018-02-28 06:40:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2722496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spikewriter/pseuds/spikewriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So many times he'd held out his hand to someone who was lost, confused, or in danger and said, "Come with me."</p>
            </blockquote>





	State of Change

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for Day Seven of my 2009 Advent Calendar, and edited for posting here.

So many times he'd held out his hand to someone who was lost, confused, or in danger and said, "Come with me." He always would if he could; the times he couldn't, the times events prevented him from acting weighed heavy on his soul. The Master had once mocked him for his choice of names, calling him "the man who makes everyone better" -- even as the Doctor had told him of his greatest failure by not being able to save his own people.

So many times, too, he'd been trapped somewhere. He'd been stranded on Earth by the Time Lords for breaking their laws of non-interference -- until they'd needed his peculiar brand of...non-conformity. He'd lost the TARDIS several times, something his granddaughter Susan never let him forget when she'd traveled with him. But somehow, whether his ship had been lost in a fissure deep in the bowels of the planet or captured by hostile aliens (or folks who just didn't understand it was _him_ ), he'd somehow always found his way back. Reunited with the TARDIS, he and whomever was traveling with him would go racing off to the stars once more, searching for someone else who needed an outstretched hand.

It was a mark of the universe's cruel sense of humor that he found himself stranded once more, without even the chance of recapturing the TARDIS. Oh, he was pretty certain some folks in Torchwood would want to continue work on the Dimension Cannon -- and that was a conversation he and Rose would have to have at some point -- but he was equally certain they didn't have the technology to make it work without an active rift between the worlds. He wasn't going to help them on that end, either; Pete hadn't been particularly happy at the Doctor's refusal to work for the organization that had done so much. But the businessman in him had leapt at a chance to have the Doctor join Vitex as a senior member of the research and development team for the company's new electronics division. There were a few things he could "develop" that would likely prove popular and he knew the deal he struck with Pete would ensure he had a steady flow of money, which he was going to need to get along.

But there'd be no more traveling the stars for him, not since his other self -- to be referred to henceforth as "that poncy bastard" -- had left him here in this other universe where a TARDIS couldn't thrive even if he had the coral to grow one. Not that he would; there was technology he had no intention of letting Torchwood anywhere near. Now he really did have to walk the slow path and build a more earth-bound life. In the flurry of the past few weeks, as he'd had a new identity created and Jackie had insisted on taking charge of his wardrobe, it'd been easy to forget that this was it; one world, one heart, one life. Now, though, standing on the sidewalk outside what was clearly a luxury apartment building in the heart of London's financial district, he found himself feeling lost and confused. He wasn't certain he was ready for this new life, full of so many unknowns that he hadn't considered. The time lines around him were in such flux that it was almost maddening and he wasn't certain if he was making the right choice with this step or risking everything.

"Doctor? You okay?"

He looked down to find Rose's concerned face looking up at him. He still didn't understand why she'd suggested he move out of the Tyler manse and into her flat in the city; certainly not for romantic reasons with her mention of a second bedroom. Not that he wasn't grateful to Jackie and Pete for all the kindnesses they showed him, but the chance to have some space to himself and time to think -- and a chance to figure out where he stood with Rose without her mother hovering over them -- was irresistible. Or so he thought, until this moment when he found his courage failing him. "I'm fine," he said, falling back on old habits and flashing her a grin he hoped would stave off questions. But when she looked at him with an expression that said she didn't believe him, he knew he couldn't just offer the glib answer any more.

"Nervous," he confessed, the words feeling strange on his lips. "Unsure."

"Like your insides are all twisted up and you can't move but if you don't do something you're going to explode? I felt like that a lot when I first got here."

With that she started up the steps to the building, then turned around and held out her hand. "Come with me."

He moved to join her, reaching for the lifeline that was offered just as he'd held out his own hand so many times before. Then, hands clasped together, they stepped across the threshold and into a brave new world.


End file.
